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Football England striker Gary Lineker was left awestruck by Lionel Messi's first-half performance during Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)'s UEFA Champions League game against Maccabi Haifa.
The Argentine has been instrumental in the Parisian giants' domination in the first half against their Israeli opponents today (October 25). The seven-time Ballon d'Or scored twice and assisted once as PSG took a 4-1 lead at the halfway stage.
Lineker, who has been a huge advocate for the playmaker, took to Twitter to sound his appreciation for the Argentine forward. The former Leicester City and FC Barcelona forward made a few tweets after being wowed by PSG's number 30.
Lineker tweeted the following:
"Another beautiful finish from Messi. Scoring and assisting for fun again this season."
He then tweeted:
"Messi strikes again with a wonderful goal. The most typically Messi goal you’re likely to see."
It is worth mentioning that the former Barcelona skipper has now scored three goals against Maccabi Haifa. He scored against the same opponent during the Parisian giants' 3-1 win earlier this season. He even provided an assist on that occasion.
Christophe Galtier's side are on course to secure a place in the Champions League knockout stages. Should they win against Maccabi Haifa, they would have picked up 11 points from five group stage matches.
Lionel Messi has already equalled his goals tally from his debut season at PSG
Messi joined PSG in the summer of 2021 on a free transfer after his contract expired with Barcelona. The forward took his time to settle into his new surroundings in the French capital and had an underwhelming season last time around.
He only scored 11 goals and provided 15 assists from 34 games across all competitions. Out of his goal tally, only six were scored in Ligue 1.
The Argentine, however, has already equalled his goals tally from last season. Following his first-half brace against Maccabi Haifa, the forward has now scored 11 times across all competitions this season.
It is worth mentioning that he has also provided 11 assists for the Parisian giants this season. It won't be long until the Argentina skipper surpasses his assists tally from last season as well.
The legendary playmaker finally seems to have settled in at PSG. Based on his current form, he should make it to the Ballon d'Or shortlist for 2023.
The record seven-time award winner was left out of the 2022 Ballon d'Or shortlist this year following a disappointing 2021-22 season for the Parisian giants.
